Apparently Kids Like Going to the Pool

I am not really a pool person.  Actually, I am not really a water person.  I do like going to the beach, but I like it more for the relaxation.  Sitting on the beach (fully sunblocked or umbrella'd), listening to the waves crash, reading a book or falling asleep.  That is awesome, although doesn't really happen now that I have kids at the beach with me.  And if someone who is really good at swimming, and possibly saving my life, is willing to go in the water with me, then I can enjoy that too.

But overall, I don't swim.  I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of the water.  I know that if I venture out in still water, I can most likely get back to whichever surface I came from.  Be it a boat, dock or pool side.

However, I am not confident in my ability to take care of small children in a water environment.  But really, that is not the point of my post.

The point is, that kids love the pool.  Since kids love the pool, we have joined a pool this summer.  This basically melds together three things I don't like - 1) Water with small children, 2) Sun exposure (I'm kind of a freak about sunblock.  Have you seen my children?  They're like ghosts.  They burn, I burn.), and 3) Wearing a bathing suit.

This late in the game...probably not learning to rescue small children from water.  So most likely, we will only be going to the pool with Clif.


The ghostly-ness of me and my children?  That I can do absolutely zero about.  I will be buying lots of sunblock.

However, I've decided to try and do something about the horridness of my body in a bathing suit.  So at least when I am sitting under some sort of shade structure watching my husband take care of my kids in the water, I can feel somewhat comfortable in the most un-revealing bathing suit I can find.



Do you think I could pull off this look?


So I present...What I'm doing to get bathing suit ready and healthy too!

1 - Walking.  My cousin, Elizabeth, has started a walking competition between a bunch of us.  I have a large family and we live all over the East coast, but we all bought pedometers and we're all trying to walk at least 10,000 steps a day.  Well, I was not on the ball and did not buy mine until Saturday.  So I started yesterday (a week behind everyone else)...but I walked 17,500 steps!!!  What?!?!  I couldn't believe it.

2 - Stairs.  I work on the 7th floor of a building.  I've always taken the elevator.  But I've decided, no more elevator.  Now I'm walking up and down stairs all day.  Up is way harder than down, but I've already noticed it getting a bit easier in just a week.

3 - Water.  I used to be so great at drinking water.  But I have floundered since taking this job.  Ice is the reason.  I love really cold water.  I mean, it needs to be almost icy for me to drink it all.  There is only one ice machine in the whole building.  Second floor.  Note above...I work on the 7th floor.  So I've been lazy.  But now with my whole attitude towards stairs and walking as much as possible...I drank 9 glasses of water yesterday!

4 - Food.  This is always my biggest weakness.  I. Love. Food!  I love so many different kinds of food.  The greasier, cheesier, breadier the better!  All bad things.  So I'm trying.  I refuse to "diet."  Really I'm just trying to make some healthier decisions.  I'm trying to eat less sugar (because apparently when I got pregnant with Freddie I also got a major sweet tooth).  I'm trying to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day.  And most important of all, portion control.  This is really the hardest part for me.  I have a huge...no HUGE appetite.  I can eat most people under the table.  Not really something I'm proud of, but unfortunately true.

5 - Play.  Since it's been nice, I've been trying to take the kids to the playground as much as possible.  It is at the top of my in-law's hill, half a mile away.  I put them in the wagon with their snacks and sippy cups and pull the 50+ pounds up the hill.  Then we play for 30-40 minutes.  And I'm trying to really play with them, not just watch.  I taught Ainsley tag, follow the leader and dodge ball.  So this is how I plan to get my exercise...since I no longer can find the time for 6 mile runs or hours on a treadmill.

So there you have it.  Are you doing anything to get your body ready for summer?

Look Who's Walking

This is the second time that he did this.  And it happened about a week and a half ago...but I was in the middle of computer issues.  So here is our little man taking his second steps.

Enjoy!

Last Night

Dear Freddie,

Last night you took one step.  It was just one step.  You didn't make any progress across the room, you just lifted that little knee and then stomped it back down in the same spot.  But you were so proud.  You squealed and then fell into my arms giggling.  I've only seen your sister pull giggles like that from you, because you, my love, are not easy.  You don't give smiles and giggles away to just anyone.  You need to trust that person first.  You need to love that person first.  And even then, when you trust and love a person with all your heart, those belly laughs are few and far between.

But last night, you knew you had done something amazing.  Something you'd never done before.  The pride and sheer delight that lit up your eyes made me want to burst.  I cheered you on and lifted you in the air, but a part of my heart broke.  Last night, you would only lift that chubby foot while facing me, but I know not long from now, I'll watch you walk away from me.  I know how much you love me, so I know you'll always come back...but as a mother, seeing those first steps of independence are thrilling, terrifying, exciting and heartbreaking all wrapped up in the tiniest little moment.

Last night, you had trouble going to sleep, so I slept with you and as I was falling asleep I thought about what lie ahead.  That one little step will now open a whole new world for you.  That one little step means that walking is only a couple of weeks off and running just a month or so down the road.  That one little step shows you that you are your own person, that you can accomplish things on your own.

So last night, I didn't complain about you not sleeping well.  Instead I just held you close and tried to breath in your sweet baby smell.  I tried to imprint the feel of your silky soft skin on my heart.  I tried to memorize the cadence of your resting breath.  I always want to remember these moments.  These moments where you let me hold you close.  These moments when you're so interested in everything I have to say.  These moments where you sleep best in my arms.  These moments where taking one step is the most exciting sensation you've ever experienced.



Love,
Mommy

Ainsley Loves the Phone and other Randomeness

So this video is pretty long, but it has some fun things in it if you're interested. Ainsley's walking is progressing rapidly. It's so amazing how quickly she picks things up. She's actually starting to use it as a mode of transportation now not just when we prompt her to do it. Then of course there are the stairs...she loves the stairs, I can't keep her away from them.

However, my favorite part of the video is the phone!! How funny that she knows what to do with a phone? She has always been fascinated with our cell phones and remote controls. She'd rather play with those than any of her toys, so I'll play telephone with her on her play phones, but she's never really interested in that. She always wants the real thing. We ended up giving her one of Clif's old cell phones (We are on no short supply of old cell phones...for those of you that know my husband, you are not surprised that he must keep every gadget he has ever owned no matter of it's size, usefulness, or working ability. Love you Clif :). However, she seems to still really like our cell phones. So she found both of them sitting on the end table last night and she decided to "talk" into them. Very cute, cracked me up! We tried to call Aunt DeeDee (wasn't sure who else would be up, it was about 10 pm), but she didn't answer, but Ainsley was very mesmerized by the voice mail message coming out of the phone.

My favorite thing about this phone obsession is that apparently I had the same obsession as a baby. So my daughter who shows zero resemblance to me, actually does have a little piece of me in her. That does worry me a little that she will end up with more of my personality, I'd much rather she be like Clif. I am way more high strung then he is. He's so happy go lucky. I'd like her to live her life that way, more carefree, not always worrying and stressing like I do.

Well, enjoy the video. I'm typing this at work and probably shouldn't be :)

And the Oscar goes to...

As promised, here is some video of Ainsley trying to walk.

So there you have it...no chasing Gatsby yet, but it's a start.

I'm happy to report that the sleeping thing is going....eh...ok. I will say that under the circumstances, she's actually doing pretty well. See, I got a call from Day Care on Friday, Ainsley was running a fever. Turns out she has strep throat. And, now I'm sick too. So between a sick baby and a very tired, sick mommy...the sleeping thing is going as well as can be expected. She has been going down in her crib at night to sleep, but she does end up coming to bed with us sometime in the middle of the night. And I've yet to get her to nap in the crib. Part of the issue is due to the fact that she's been throwing up some and twice now she's been asleep in her crib and then blah...and I have to get her out and change the sheets. Which sucks, but like I said, it's going pretty well under the circumstances.

I have to tell you about our little drama queen at the doctor on Friday afternoon. The doctor ordered a strep test, a flu test, a RSV test and a blood count. The strep test was first...swab the throat...crying. Then the flu and RSV tests...swab way up the nose...screaming. Then the blood count....finger prick...inconsolable sobbing. So we're finished and waiting and she's just crying on my shoulder and I'm feeling so bad for her when finally she pulls away from me and stops crying. Until she looks at her bandaged finger, looks back at me, back at the band aid, and full on drama queen, "pity me", sobbing. Every time she started to feel better, she'd look at her finger and start up again. I felt very bad for her, but I have to admit it was kind of funny. Maybe one day we'll see her on the big screen with skills like that!

Ainsley is feeling better today...unfortunately, I definitely have something now. Let's hope it's not strep.

Well, I'm just too tired to write any more today, and Clif has hurt his back so I'm kind of on solo duty with Ainsley...so I'll write again soon.

Hardships of Babydom...learning to walk and eat

These are new pictures, but these are not pictures from yesterday or last night. See, somehow we have misplaced the camera's charger. And the camera has died. So until we find it or buy a new one, you'll just have to see my favorite pictures. I just love the one of her in the yellow top and plaid skirt. She makes the funniest faces when you pull out the camera. She knows you're going to take a picture of her. We can probably thank my mom for that. For anyone who doesn't know my mom well, she always...I mean always...has her camera with her. Don't worry mom, I'm not picking on you. It's actually a very good thing, we have plenty of gorgeous Ainsley pictures to choose from.

I bought Ainsley a waking toy (you can see part of it in the second picture). It is this little contraption on wheels that stands up so little ones learning to walk can push it around and still have a little support. Then when they are way past the walking milestone, it turns into this little car type thing that they can ride. Anyway, very good idea, but not really thought out all the way. So Ainsley, as I've said before, is all over the place. She no longer stays where you put her. I can't take my eyes off of her for a second. This doesn't mean just crawling, she stands up every chance she gets. She can walk around furniture and stand unsupported...she just can't do the two together. So these little walkers are supposed to help with that. Unfortunately they don't really have a slow down option. Baby stands up and puts pressure on wheeled contraption and baby does not know how to move feet well yet. So guess what happens...right, she falls right on her face. Luckily, I realized this issue before letting her just have at it. So instead of this becoming a fun toy that will keep her occupied while I make dinner, clean the house, whatever; it has become a "mommy holds it steady and moves it slowly while Ainsley takes little steps" toy. I know she'll get there, and believe me, I'm not trying to rush her. I'm just trying to keep her focused on things other than the remotes, the phones, the mail, the dog food, the cords, the TV, the DVD player...you get the picture. Find the one thing in the room that you don't want Ainsley to touch and she's bound to already be there and stuffing it in her mouth before you can even consider moving it.

Aside from the walking, Ainsley is also making great strides in the eating department...but these milestones can be tough hurdles to overcome as well. After Ainsley's 9 month check up, we started feeding her real table food instead of just baby food from the jar. She still gets the strained carrots and peas, but now she eats just about anything we eat as long as it is somewhat soft and/or can be cut into minuscule pieces. She's only got two teeth, so chewing is not so much chewing as mushing with gums. With this new taste adventure comes the danting task of feeding herself. She's becoming quite good at it. No more raking food towards her or mashing it with her palm and hoping it sticks long enough to make it to her mouth. Oh no, she has just about mastered the pincher (for non mommies, or mommies who haven't had babies in awhile that's the technical term for picking things up with your thumb and pointer finger). I thought this would be a momentous occasion, finally we could sit down and have family dinners. To some extent we have, however with the pincher has come just a little bit of attitude from our dear Ainsley. You see, she no longer wants to be fed with a spoon. She would prefer to hold the spoon (when I say hold I mean, slap, throw, bang, etc) herself and gets very upset when forced into spoon feeding from mommy or daddy. This would not be a problem if we could get completely off the baby foods, but some things she's just not ready for yet, plus not everything can be picked up with the fingers (soup for example :). So for now we just fight with her. I guess its the first of many to come. Tonight we had spaghetti for the first time and Ainsley loved it. Who wouldn't right? I wish so much I had the camera tonight because you all would of loved these pictures. Spaghetti up her nose, red sauce on her ears, ground beef in her hair. It was a work of art.

Never a dull moment. It's happening so fast and she's growing up so quickly, I just can't believe it's been 9 months. I was just talking to my Aunt Linda tonight about her kids. Her oldest is graduating from high school next month and her youngest is 6 feet tall. I used to change these boys diapers, play basketball (which I hate!) with them, and play the same baby games I now play with Ainsley. It seems like just yesterday...it's hard to believe Ainsley will ever be that big. Of course, nine months ago I never would of thought we'd be here. I'm just trying to take every moment in as slowly as possible. Maybe every once in awhile I'll be able to make time stand still. Maybe.